Thanksgiving in Space
by CassieSky
Summary: The Robinsons, Major West, Doctor Smith and the Robot celebrate Thanksgiving aboard the Jupiter 2. Sorry if this isn't a very high quality or substantial story, I just thought it was a fun idea, and I hope you enjoy it!


The Robinson Family, Don West, the Robot, and Doctor Smith sat around the Galley table aboard the spaceship Jupiter 2, in the midst of their Thanksgiving celebration in space. It had been an annual tradition for the Robinsons back on Earth, but West had never really celebrated, he couldn't bring himself to eat Turkey, it reminded him too much of a chicken.

Smith, however, recalled the grandiose, candlelit and bloody Thanksgiving celebrations of his youth, with Aunt Maude, Uncle Thaddeus, and his cousins, back when there were still a few of them left. But without any family anymore, Smith found celebrating the holiday extremely unpleasant.

"Bah! I won't say no to this exquisite meal," said Smith, ignoring the fact that the synthetic space Turkey had been baked by the Robot using a replicator, "But I really don't see why we must stop and give thanks, after all, what have we possibly to be thankful for? We're lost out here in space, with no other human companionship, dwindling food supplies, and we'll probably be dead by the end of the year, with all the aliens, monsters, black holes, solar flares, and everything else that's constantly attacking us- so why stop now, and waste precious time in some idyllic family gathering? And hardly a gathering at that, where are all the candles, the champagne, eh? This is a poor excuse for a celebration!"

"No, Doctor Smith, we're alive. We've survived incredible dangers, and we have each other. We are a family, and that's something we can be thankful for!" said Maureen.

"Indeed, really-" Smith silenced himself with a large bite of food.

"The concept of giving thanks does not compute!" said the Robot. "How is it possible to give an emotion to someone? And who are we bestowing this gift of thanks to? For what purpose!"

Young Will tried to explain the tradition to his mechanical friend, but Smith interjected.

"Well, for once I agree with that Oversized, obstinate oven! The very idea makes no sense whatsoever. Now, if we were on Earth, in the Smith manor, I might feel differently, but not here. Here it's just a depressing reminder of all we've lost."

"That's enough, Smith!" said Don.

"Let's try to get back on topic," said John.

On the other side of the table, Penny and Will were having a food fight.

"Now, I want us to go around the table and each say something we're thankful for. Except Smith that is, he's said his piece. As for me, I'm thankful that we still have hope and love for one another. Not everyone gets to experience those things, even on Earth, and it's a tragedy. But even in the worst of circumstances, we've still stuck together through it all- we've endured, and while we may be lost in space, we've been sure never to lose ourselves in the process. I'm thankful for that, and I do believe that after all of these trials and tribulations, that the universe, and whoever may be watching us, have a beautiful destiny in store for us. It's all worth it, for moments like this."

Maureen went next. "Above all, I'm thankful for my family, and yes that includes all of you. Life isn't perfect, of course there are things that I wish had happened differently- but we're here now, and that's the greatest gift I could ever ask for, all of us together at this table- and thank goodness I don't have to do the cooking, I'm thankful for that too. But no, thank you all, and I love you all."

"I'm thankful for our pilot, Don, for not crashing the ship too often". Said Judy. Everyone laughed, but she continued on. "But no, I'm also thankful for everyone on this ship- my family, my friends, my boyfr, well, er, I know I wasn't always around for these sorts of things back on Earth, off with my friends, on Broadway, at medical school, but when I think about all of the wonderful things in my life, there's nowhere else I'd rather be, and no one else I'd rather be with. Speaking of which, I recorded a tape for everyone to watch."

Judy activated a small portable tape player, which projected holographic images onto the wall, old family photos from both Earth and space. Everyone watched, absorbed in the memories. Looking back at those photos, everything seemed so happy and fun. There were pictures of the Robinson house on Earth, going back as far as when even Penny was a baby, and even more recent images of the Robinsons training for the mission, that first dinner with Don West, and a few photos of Doctor Smith as well. Accompanying the holographic slideshow was Judy's voice, singing a festive but haunting song.

"Sorry for taking so long, everyone." Judy said at the end, but then she found herself embraced by her family from across the table. She found herself kissing Don lovingly, but no one else seemed to notice.

Penny tried to think of something unique to say, it was rare that she was able to get a word in at family gatherings. "Well…" she began. "I'm thankful for everything. I'm thankful to be alive, I'm thankful for all of you, I love you so much. I'm thankful for the universe being so beautiful. I'm thankful for the sun, the grass, the leaves on trees, the flowers- I'm thankful for the wind and the warmth and for love…"

Will rolled his eyes and yawned. Several minutes later, Penny was still listing things she was thankful for, her wide, innocent looking bright eyes hiding the pain that for her, many of those beautiful things would live on only in memory. "…I'm thankful for waves, water, sand, colors, the sky… I'm thankful for all the amazing, beautiful stuff that exists, all the feelings, the experiences, life, light, friendship, family, love. I'm thankful for all of that!" Penny finished. She smiled and closed her eyes, lost somewhat in thought, memory, and imagination. "Okay Will, your turn!" she said, pushing her very bored brother playfully.

"Awe, gosh" He said, scrunching up his face in concentration. "It's just so silly. But yea, I'm thankful for that we love each other. Even you, Doctor Smith, and Robot, I know you might not understand it, but you're part of the family too! And yea, I guess I am growing up a little. But I always want to be here with my family, we have so much fun. So I'm thankful for almost everything that's happened to us, and for all the things we can grow up to do, even in space. And I'm thankful for everyone here. Now, alright Robot, you get to go next, it's okay if you don't understand, we all love you."

"I love you too, Will Robinson". The Robot spoke, raising his bubble with a flicker of emotion in his circuits. "I love all of you. I am thankful to be accepted into the family, even as a Robot, and I am honored to protect such wonderful people, and grow and learn from you in the process. The celebration may not compute, but if there is one thing in this universe that does compute, it is love."

"Awwwwe", Will hugged the Robot, and the rest of the family moved in for another group hug.

And then it was Don's turn. The major cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, I'm glad we've survived, it really is a miracle, you know. I know I may not always seem like the sentimental type, but really- I'm thankful for all you guys. You make my life a whole lot more interesting, and really put things in perspective for me. I've learned a lot, being a part of your family has made me a better person, and convinced me that there is still some good out there in the universe, yes, even in Smith. Back on Earth, well, I didn't really have much of a family. I was always kinda a loner, I worked so hard to advance my career at such a young age, but now, this little diversion, or- let's just call it a family trip- it really opened my eyes. I've learned that there's more to life than flying a ship or fighting. I wish I had been better sooner, and I am sorry for all the times I messed up, or didn't understand, but I'm so grateful for all of you for being the family I never had the first time. Keep on being your fantastic selves, because I honestly do love and appreciate you."

After some more family embracing and a moment of silence, an unexpected voice spoke up.

"May I have a turn?" said Doctor Smith.

"Sure, why not…we, uh, probably shouldn't have saved you for last, but go ahead." said John.

"Oh boy, here we go, " said Don.

"I am thankful for this lovely food!" Smith began "Who knew that sentimental cybernetic simpleton could produce a gourmet meal to suit even my refined tastes! I may be miserable, but at least I remain well fed!"

"Thank you for the complement, Doctor Smith!" said the Robot. Everyone else just shrugged and returned to eating the synthesized meal.

The rest of the celebration was quiet, with a few small conversations. Smith stayed quiet for the rest of it, still thinking about his own family and childhood, now forever lost in time as well as space. The normally very verbose doctor wished he could have come up with a better speech about what he was thankful for. (The more he ate, the worse the food tasted)

In all honesty, as afraid as he was of death, deep down Smith was not thankful to have survived, not after all that had happened- he often felt like it would be simpler to just fade away, to not to live in such a stressful, complicated life. There was no hope in sight for him, nothing to look forward to in the future, even if by some miracle they were ever able to find the Earth again. So there was nothing he could possibly be thankful for…

But then he remembered, there was something he was thankful for. And surprisingly, it was the same as everyone else, he was thankful for his family. But not his deceased aunt and uncle and cousins, nor even his lost fiancé and lost children, who he had never gotten to know.

His true family was the Robinsons.

They had accepted him in a way no one else ever had, while he had never been anything but trouble to them. Even at the dinner, where there had been nothing to sabotage or mess up, he had still been very pessimistic and cynical, trying to spoil the family's fun by complaining and lamenting their predicament.

Within the recesses of his tortured soul, he wished there was a way he could tell the Robinsons how he really felt about them, how much he loved and appreciated them, how they felt like family to him as well, and how he really did care, in his own way. Smith cried on the inside- he couldn't do it, he couldn't explain. But he felt it, he felt love and caring, and there was no better feeling. Soon his thoughts were drowned out by the laughter of his fellow crewmembers, his family, and their aura of love that spread throughout the spaceship.

After all the food was gone, the Robinsons cleared away the table and prepared to retire to their cabins, when suddenly an alarm bell sounded. "Danger, Danger!" said the Robot.

"Well, that was convenient timing!" said Maureen.

"Hey, at least the danger waited until after the celebration!" said John.

The family rushed upstairs to the control room. Smith screamed in terror, but the children would almost have laughed, had it not been such a serious and dangerous predicament. Outside the viewport, a giant floating Space Turkey was about to swallow the Jupiter 2 whole!


End file.
